Johns Hopkins Medical School Requirements, Tuition, and More

We’re covering everything you need to know as you consider applying to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. You’ll learn about acceptance rates, application deadlines, average MCAT scores, tuition, curriculum, and more.
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Founded in 1876, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is located in Baltimore, Maryland, sharing its campus with Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was established in 1889. It is part of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) Campus, which also includes the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the School of Nursing. Johns Hopkins was the first medical school to require its students to have an undergraduate degree and the first to admit women. A historically standout institution, the school has always ranked in the top 3 according to U.S. News and World Report in the number of competitive research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 
With 482 full-time students and 2300 full-time faculty on staff, the school has an exceptional 4.8:1 faculty-student ratio. Faculty attention is at the forefront of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine education. At the start of their med school careers, students are divided into four colleges, each named for a Hopkins faculty member who has had a lasting impact on the field of medicine: Florence Sabin, Vivien Thomas, Daniel Nathans, and Helen Taussig. According to the school, these colleges were founded to “foster camaraderie, networking, advising, mentoring, professionalism, clinical skills, and scholarship.” A fifth of each class, or about 30 students, are assigned to each college, and are then further subdivided into six “molecules” of five students each. A faculty member not only advises each “molecule,” but also teaches these students in their Clinical Foundations of Medicine course. This faculty member remains the students’ primary advisor for all four years of medical school, and it is not uncommon for advisors to host their “molecules” in their homes. School-wide, the colleges compete in an annual “College Olympics,” which has events in sports, art, and dance.
Students primarily train at the school’s main teaching hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital. Additionally, the school is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, the Howard County General Hospital, Suburban Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., and the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.


Med students complete Johns Hopkins’ “Genes to Society” curriculum, which was instituted in 2009, and integrates learning, research, and patient care. The curriculum takes a holistic approach to diagnosis, taking into account the wide range of factors that can influence a patient’s disease presentation, from genetics to the environment. According to the school, Genes to Society “presents a model of health and disease based in the principles of adaptation to the environment, variability of the genotype, and stratification of risk, rather than simply a dichotomous view of ‘normal human biology (health)’ and ‘abnormal physiology (disease)’.” Rather than studying classic medical cases, students are taught by examining disease from a whole-person perspective, taking into account not only presenting symptoms, but also factors that span cellular makeup to socioeconomic status. 
In their first year, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine students start with foundational human biology, with a focus on what has been learned from the Human Genome project about human variability. Independent scholarly research is integrated throughout the curricular track, starting in the winter of the first year. Uniquely, students begin clinical clerkships from the start (most med schools have students start clerkships in Year 3). By working with patients early in their education and training, students are encouraged to integrate classroom learning through practical experience. Advanced clerkships in the latter half of the curriculum are supported by electives and week-long courses spaced out every ten weeks on specific interdisciplinary medicinal topics such as Cancer, Regenerative Medicine, or Metabolism. The curriculum culminates in a capstone course to prepare students for the residency experience.
In addition to the MD track, the school has several dual-degree programs:

• MD-PhD Program – a 6-8 year program intended for students who have already identified a medical research career path. About 10% of each incoming class is accepted directly into this program.
• MD-MPH Program – in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Students in the School of Medicine can apply for admission to this program between Year Two and Year Three or between Year Three and Year Four.
• MD-MS in Health Care Management – a program to give students a business background in the medical industry. Students can apply for admission between their second and third years of med school, or their third and fourth.
• MD-MBA Program – with the Carey Business School. Students interested in pursuing these two degrees concurrently apply directly for admittance into this 5-year program.

As a longtime leader in the field, Johns Hopkins has been associated with many firsts. Some notable advancements include:

• First to introduce rubber gloves in surgical procedures
• Published The Harriet Lane Handbook, a vital tool for pediatricians for 60 years
• Developed CPR
• Developed the first biological pacemaker for the heart
• Conducted one of the most complicated successful double arm transplants

• Radiology
• Research
• Surgery
• Anesthesiology 
• Obstetrics and Gynecology 
• Neurosurgery 
• Oncology
• Pediatrics 
• Psychiatry

 
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has about 482 full-time students. About 150 students are admitted into the school on the MD track each year, and about 15 students are accepted into the MD-PhD program. For the Class of 2023, the school received 6016 applications. Of the 4297 applicants who submitted secondaries, 856 received an MD interview (14.2% interview rate). 256 applicants were accepted and 120 matriculated. 

The acceptance rate is 3.9%.

Tuition costs $53,400 per year. The school reports that about 85% of students who apply for financial aid receive “ample” packages to offset the cost.

Here is the application cycle:

• Early June: AMCAS Application Opens
• Mid-July: Admissions Committee begins applicant review
• September: Interviews begin
• October 15: AMCAS Deadline
• November 1: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine secondary application deadline
• December: First round of decisions delivered
• January: Second round of decisions and completion of interviews
• April: Final round of decisions delivered

Like most medical schools, Johns Hopkins has a Rolling Admissions policy, meaning that applications are reviewed as they are completed. Students may increase their chances of getting accepted by applying earlier in the admissions cycle.
The application fee is $100.

Johns Hopkins unfortunately does not publish the average MCAT scores of accepted students, but with an acceptance rate around 4%, you’ll likely need a top score to remain competitive.



The most popular residency programs that students from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine match into are in the following fields:

• Anesthesiology
• Emergency medicine
• Gynecology
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Psychiatry
• Dermatology
• Internal Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Pediatrics
• Surgery

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